So many visitors, so little time...

We had a fleeting but very enjoyable visit from our most recent Stalkers, Carole and Paul Venner who are holidaying at the Souli.  They brought friends with them and treats for the cats (Chivers will be super excited by the Lick-e-Lix) and a super bottle of wine for us.  We always think of Christmas when we see a bottle of Methy and so we will save it until then as it is a rich, spicy and heavy red which goes perfectly with Christmas Dinner and a snooze in front of the fire!!!  We shall raise a glass to Carole and Paul when we do so and toast their very good health.

We had a quick hour with them under the gazebo where they got to sample my freshly baked Banana Bread before they went off to explore the island - heading for Val's Place and Pomos and Pachyammos.

I hoped they would have better luck finding where they wanted to go sightseeing than they had at finding us - but I realised in the afternoon that the landmark blue arrow pointing them up the hill opposite Kelly's house had fallen over so they are forgiven not taking that turning.  As it happens they found where they wanted to go without any problem - save for the fact that Val's Place was closed today!!

We have learned that Carole and Paul return to the UK on the same flight as my cousin - next Thursday's evening flight to Gatwick so to save them the cost of a taxi we have offered to pick them up and take them to the airport - we have to go anyway and can get them and their luggage in so it seems the sensible thing to do.

We were pleased we had managed to catch up with them albeit very briefly - they are both looking fit and healthy and are going to enjoy a few days of chilling out after they friends go back to the UK.  They say they have found it much more humid down on the coast this year - I reckon it was all the rain last winter causing the land to be saturated.  We certainly think it is more humid when we go down to Polis or Paphos.

We said goodbye to our visitors and then set off to pick up Sheila and Klaus who are celebrating their 49th Wedding Anniversary today.  We had offered to take them out for lunch and they had accepted which was, in the words of the Bobster, Bomba!!!

They had chosen to go for Fish and Chips at Santa Marina in Coral Bay which sounded good to us so that is where we headed.  Going down to Coral Bay is like being a tourist for a while - it is all hustle and bustle and souvenir shops and bars and eateries and it is quite fun to remember what it was like when we used to visit as tourists.

Santa Marina is a bright and airy Fish and Chip shop which is beautifully clean, has really welcoming staff and an extensive menu.  Klaus and Sheila go every now and again so knew exactly what they were going to eat.  Sheila a small cod and chips, Klaus cod, chips and mushy peas and John opted for a large cod and chips and I was thrilled that they had the baby whole calamari on the menu which I had with salad and chips.

The food was wonderful and we had a really nice lunch.  During conversation it transpired that Klaus had a parcel that needed picking up from the main Post Office in Paphos so we shot off there before it closed and then made our way back to Mum's where we stopped for a cuppa and a biscuit.  Mum is currently having maintenance work done to the bungalow so she had to be in all day so we thought she would appreciate a visit.

Whilst we were there we had a text from Di and Rob who were also in Paphos.  They were in Alpha Mega and one of the beers John likes "Dunkel" was on offer so they wondered if he wanted some.  We asked if they had the Russian beer in the pretty bottles which they did also at a good price so John asked if they could get some of them as well.  Mum had also picked up a couple of bottles of the ale from Lidl so he was going to be well stocked up for the next few weeks!!!

On our return from Paphos Di and Rob called in for a cuppa and a piece of cake and to drop of the beers for John which they did as a gift which was really kind of them.  We sat around under the gazebo for quite a while chatting and catching up.

Poor Di had a tumble the other day outside going down the steps in the garden.  She is a bit stiff and bruised and has a little toe the size of a sausage but apart from that ok-ish.  It is a good job we have a couple of weeks rest from pickleball because she is probably going to need it.

We were both so full from lunch and the tea and cake we had afterwards that we didn't bother with any supper this evening.

We stayed up long enough to take in episode 2 of Carnival Row which we started watching this week.  It is a bit of a cross between Game of Thrones, Peaky Blinders and Ripper Street but we have enjoyed what we have seen so far.  The sets are absolutely fabulous - it must have been such good fun working on those.